The Raven's Gift has been available for a a little over a month now and comments are starting to pour in, from all over the Western Hemisphere.  Here are a few, listed in the order of most recent, first:

 

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From Marty Essen: Author of “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents”

     You should see my copy of The Raven’s Gift. The spine is bent out of shape from reading the book in bed; some pages have food stains on them from reading the book in restaurants (nachos and books should never be enjoyed at the same time); and the book’s cover is worn from being stuffed in and pulled out of my travel bag. In other words, The Raven’s Gift has been a great companion!

     I assume people reading this review will already know, in general, what The Raven’s Gift is about, so I’m not going to repeat that information here. Instead I’ll say this: The book will surprise you. It will make you care about a culture you’ve never heard of before. It will challenge your belief system. You’ll never look at a raven the same way again. You’ll definitely laugh, and you might even cry.

     Jon Turk is a wonderful writer. His words flow off the page, making it easy to enjoy the story without being distracted. Even readers in warm climates will find themselves reaching for a sweater as they follow Jon on this unusual and touching Arctic quest.     

Highly recommended!

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From Len Barron: Boulder, Colorado

     The mix of the content and the genuineness of your delivery system made for a delicious evening for everyone.

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From Jenny Munro: Port Hope, Ontario

     When I think of a religion, cosmology or whatever, that has people drawing on walls rather than going to war, that reveres and enters the spirit of birds, bears and trees,  that to me seems perfectly logical! 

     Though I experience magic, I find it hard to put in words.  I think most people of our culture somehow just can't admit to magic,  so the universe did us a favour by putting you and Moolynaut together!

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From Debby Takikawa: Santa Ynez, CA

     Your work to bring your book into the world is very inspiring. I know that it is hard to travel so much, but your message is important, and your stories are a call for people to wake up to the world in a different way than they perceive it now....We humans are so out of touch with what we need in order to sustain life, but there are some of us who will go down continuing to turn towards what is real, holy and good. I think your stories point people to a deeper meaning. It encourages people to accept and embrace the thing they are encouraged by our culture to deny. I can't tell you exactly what that thing is, but your stories are pointing to it the way a compass points North.

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From Russ Lawrence: Chivay, Peru

     The Raven’s Gift made me think of the gift I received as a child, though I didn’t recognize it as such at the time.  Of course I read incessantly, and in the course of my reading I naturally came across stories featuring magic, elves, fairies, and other features beyond the realm of my experience.  I found it confusing, and always wondered, did they really exist?  I was a stubborn, proud kid, though, and I never talked about these things with my parents or teachers, reasoning that I could figure it out for myself.  I just kept reading and encountering more, so my powerful 10-year-old intellect reasoned that magic must be possible, or it wouldn’t be so present in so many forms.

     Since that time, the only unshakeable belief that I’ve carried is the belief in the possibility of nearly anything.  Magic?  Sure.  UFO’s?  Could be.  Moolynaut, Kutcha, and the spirits from the Other World healing your pelvis?  If you say so. 

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From Julia Pyatt: Taos, New Mexico

     In all my years of reading books, your style and content is by far my favorite. This book is astonishingly great.  I love your word choice, how your string the past and the current narrative together, we are right there with you all and our souls stir with a deep sense of remembering with each flip of the page.

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From Melanie MacVoy: Fernie, British Columbia

     I read about one book every two years, some I don’t even finish, but I’ve been reading your new book and can’t put it down.  It has opened my imagination in many ways.   Ben and I went for a cross country ski and I kept imaging I was crossing the Siberian tundra!  It is also nice to read about Chris and be reminded of her gentle nature.

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From Charles Mabbitt: Darby, Montana